Episode 342 (23rd March 1964)
Plot Florrie advertises for an assistant for £5 a week while Dennis continues to work for her for the short-term before the club opens. Two girls turn down Florrie's job offer due to the pay and conditions. The Booths take delivery of an expensive Scandinavian sofa bed. Jerry struggles with it as he's out of condition. Lucille's in a bad mood due to Eddie. Concepta makes fun of Len, saying he's not as fit as he thinks he is. Ena and Minnie worry that Martha will do something stupid in London. Lucille tells Myra that she’d going to play it cool with Eddie. Val is bored with the men’s football talk in the Rovers. They make fun of Jerry when he turns up in his cycling shorts after a training session. Len makes pointed remarks about his paunch and Jerry retaliates in kind. Riled up, the two challenge each other to a one mile walking race to the Clough and back on Sunday morning, putting down a £5 wager. The next morning, Jerry gets ready to go out training while Myra plans to go out shopping, annoyed to hear that her housekeeping is down £5 because of the bet until she realises it’s against Len and her husband will probably end up £5 richer as a result. The amused menfolk give Len tips. Ena suggests he give up ale and drink tonic instead. Jerry trains hard and Len realises he has to do the same. As Jerry pounds the streets, Harry acts as Len’s pacemaker on his bike. Afterwards, Jerry is stiff and sore and, having doubts as to whether he can actually win, decides to come to a gentleman’s agreement with Len. His boss is also exhausted and has a similar idea. The two men meet in the street but before they can come to an agreement, Ena stirs things up and as a result Len’s determined to continue. Aside, she cackles to Albert that she was afraid that for a moment she was going to be deprived of her Sunday morning entertainment. Cast Regular cast *Jack Walker - Arthur Leslie *Albert Tatlock - Jack Howarth *Frank Barlow - Frank Pemberton *Ena Sharples - Violet Carson *Minnie Caldwell - Margot Bryant *Concepta Hewitt - Doreen Keogh *Harry Hewitt - Ivan Beavis *Lucille Hewitt - Jennifer Moss *Valerie Barlow - Anne Reid *Kenneth Barlow - William Roache *Elsie Tanner - Patricia Phoenix *Florrie Lindley - Betty Alberge *Len Fairclough - Peter Adamson *Myra Booth - Susan Jameson *Jerry Booth - Graham Haberfield *Dennis Tanner - Philip Lowrie Guest cast *Mrs Thorpe - Flo Fallows *First Girl - Frances Brozel *Second girl - Penny Ryder Places *Coronation Street *Rovers Return Inn - Public *7 Coronation Street - Back room *13 Coronation Street - Back room and kitchen *Unknown streets and the Clough Notes *The programme title is displayed over a shot of the street set with some roadworks in the foreground. *Dennis Tanner refers to Albert Tatlock once being a coalman but this period of his employment is contradicted by all other references to his previous jobs. *The scenes of Len Fairclough and Jerry Booth out training was shot on 16mm film. These were set to incidental music, specifically Machine Room by Douglas Gamley. *From Episode 172 (6th August 1962) to Episode 459 (5th May 1965) the programme featured a standardised cast list for the regular characters. This means that in this episode the following were credited but did not appear: Annie Walker (Doris Speed), Martha Longhurst (Lynne Carol) and Miss Nugent (Eileen Derbyshire). *''TV Times'' synopsis: Len Fairclough issues a challenge, and the Street prepares for a Sunday morning entertainment *Viewing Figures: First UK broadcast - 8,633,000 homes (1st place). Category:1964 episodes